Huangbo Xiyun: Since Mind is formless, we speak of the nature of all things as void.

You people seek to measure all within the void, foot by foot and inch by inch, I repeat to you that all phenomena are devoid of distinctions of form. Intrinsically they belong to that perfect tranquility which lies beyond the transitory sphere of form-producing activities, so all of them are coexistent with space and one with reality. Since no bodies possess real form, we speak of phenomena as void; and, since Mind is formless, we speak of the nature of all things as void. Both are formless and both are termed void.

Moreover, none of the numerous doctrines has any existence outside your original Mind. All this talk of Bodhi, Nirvāna, the Absolute, the Buddha-Nature, Mahāyāna, Theravada, Bodhisattvas and so on is like taking autumn leaves for gold. To use the symbol of the closed fist: when it is opened, all beings—both gods and men—will perceive there is not a single thing inside.

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Huangbo Xiyun, On the Transmission of Mind, translated by John Blofeld, 1958

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Wandering Ronin commentary: Meditation, endless study of the teachings of the Ch'an masters, mindfulness... rely too heavily and place too much value on any one 'special practice' among the myriad things and you'll miss the grand entirety of the Dharma. In the opening paragraph of the same book, Huangbo teaches: It is that which you see before you—begin to reason about it and you at once fall into error. What else is needed beyond this? Where else are we looking for, when what really is the concern is what has been right in front of our faces all along?

Submitted May 09, 2019 at 07:16PM by WanderingRoninXIII http://bit.ly/2LGT4ZY